


Undertow

by SongstressTinyTeacup



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: F/M, Hades loses his cool, Persephone puts on a tough front, Some angsty fluff, they love each other so so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:14:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21611950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SongstressTinyTeacup/pseuds/SongstressTinyTeacup
Relationships: Hades/Persephone
Comments: 10
Kudos: 43





	Undertow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aceofsparrows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofsparrows/gifts).



The sound of the workers chattering and Cerberus barking happily filled the field near the River Styx, a celebration to mark Persephone’s return to the underworld before Hadestown became too cold to be outside for longer than necessary.

Persephone grinned and raised her flask in response to several of the citizens raising their own glasses to her, grateful for the break from the monotony of their work schedules.

Cerberus ran past her again, speeding by before turning a circle and barreling back toward his mistress as she closed her eyes and sipped the sweet dandelion wine, taking a moment to let the flavor wash over each tastebud.

One of the newer workers, Afra looked on in awe, enamored with the goddess and queen as all workers were.

Cerberus was coming in too fast, and Lady Persephone too close to the riverbank, there’d be no way she’d stay dry after the hellhound made impact.

Afra tapped Timothy with her arm, never once tearing her eyes away.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, Cerberus connected with the goddess’ legs, making her stumble backward toward the river as her wild curls flew forward to cover her face, shielding her from the workers seeing the look of absolute terror gracing her features.

Then, as Cerberus bounded away his hind legs pushed Persephone too far, and she fell backwards straight into the river, a scream caught in her throat and unable to free itself.

Afra jumped to her feet, Timothy not far behind her as she rushed to the edge of the riverbank and waited with a shaky breath for their queen to break the surface.

Five seconds passed, then ten, then fifteen and still no sign of Persephone, and Afra’s heart plummeted through the ground beneath her as she realized that by now the river would have started sweeping the queen further down.

Afra took a deep breath, turning to Timothy and telling him to go for Mr. Hades immediately, don’t slow down, and for the sake of all of the workers, don’t stop.

“But-“ Timothy tried to protest, a full argument as to why he should be the one going in the water caught on the tip of his tongue.

“Just _go,_ Timothy! There’s no time!” Afra hissed before taking a breath and leaping into the water.

The chill stung her skin, not yet winter but no longer summer, the water reflected the changing of the seasons, but Afra dared not pause, swimming forward and opening her eyes to try and distinguish a singular detail that might reveal Persephone rather than the underwater foliage.

Then, as Afra swam as fast as she could alongside the current, she felt something caress her hand that felt nothing like the marine plant life.

With one powerful stroke Afra surged forward and grasped the fabric of Persephone’s dress, pulling them both back to the surface and gathering Persephone’s body in her arms as she tread the water.

“Help me get her out!” Afra panted, struggling to support the combined weight and keep them both above water.

Another worker, Ahmad, came sprinting up to the banks and extended his hands toward them, Afra able to tread just long enough to pass Persephone into Ahmad’s waiting fingers, which curled around her wrists and began to pull the queen to the safety of the earth, a good several feet away from the river.

Then, Afra kicked herself to the shore and pulled herself out, watching in horror as Ahmad lay a limp Persephone out on the grass and was looking at her with fear clear in his eyes.

“Move!” Afra shouted to the crowd that was quickly gathering, forming a wall around their queen which Afra then had to break through.

“C’mon, come on! Please be okay, Lady Persephone, please gods be okay.” Afra muttered frantically under her breath, taking two dripping fingers and feeling for a pulse in Persephone’s neck.

After a moment, Afra leaned down and put her ear close to Persephone’s face, looking down the body to her feet to try and spot the slightest rise and fall of the goddess’ chest.

There was a pulse, but Persephone didn’t seem to be breathing.

_“What is the meaning of this?!”_ A loud, thundering voice shook the ground beneath them.

Hades had arrived to the scene and the workers scattered away from their queen to reveal Afra, who was in the process of turning Persephone onto her side and into a recovery position so that she could proceed with the next step.

Hades’ heart almost stopped, seeing Persephone soaking wet and still, still as death. Hair drenched and plastered to her cheeks and neck, dress soaked and clinging to her form enough for Hades to see that there was no breath entering or leaving his wife’s lungs.

Timothy looked on, wringing his hands as Mr. Hades all but dropped to his knees and Afra began to take the heel of her hand and pound it on Persephone’s back, once, then twice, then three times.

“Come on, don’t you _dare_ give up!” Afra hissed to the goddess, not caring that the king could hear every word.

She would be sorely punished if the lady did not recover, and so Afra vowed she would try her hardest to achieve a revival.

Hades was fighting back an onslaught of tears and humming with rage at the same time, they had been careless.

Persephone had gone into the river and no one had done anything until it was too late, they had allowed her to flounder in the deep waters of the Styx until her strength left her and she had no choice but to take in some water.

They had been fools, but no one was more a fool than he, for Hades hadn’t been present, hadn’t been able to protect her from the dangerous waters.

He’d failed her as a husband.

Then, as Afra hit Persephone’s back once more, right between the shoulder blades and several inches down, Persephone’s body began to shudder, and the sound of violent coughing reached his ears.

Hades barreled forward, shoving Afra out of his way as he dropped to his knees at Persephone’s side, rubbing her back as she coughed and vomited up several mouthfuls of water.

“Shh, you’re okay. It’s all okay now. I’m here. I’ve got you.” Hades murmured, loud enough for only Persephone to hear as she panted, trying to fill her lungs with precious air.

Her head turned to look at him, and one water-soaked hand came up to touch his face, her fingers leaving small water droplets in their wake as he in turn caressed her face.

Persephone could see the worry behind his eyes, and while she did not trust herself to say anything yet, entirely concerned with filling her lungs, she saw the rage too.

Then, Hades stood, and glowered at the workers who looked on in various forms of shock and relief.

“Who is responsible for this?” His deep voice a deadly calm, tension rising as the shades began to speak all at once with no discernible answer to be heard.

“I said who’s responsible for this!?” Hades roared, rage finally battering down it’s cage walls as he strode forward and knocked Timothy to the ground, placing one snakeskin boot on his chest and holding him steady.

Timothy took in a quick breath, but dared not struggle.

Then the uproar of indistinguishable answers came again, louder, more frantic as the workers realized that they were all in grave danger.

This only incensed Hades more, for the god removed his boot from Timothy and grabbed Afra by the throat, raising his hand so that should she not be on her toes she would begin to struggle to breath, just as Persephone had been allowed to struggle under the murky water’s surface.

“I’m going to ask you _one_ more time. Who’s responsible for what happened?” Hades growled, rage crackling through every vein in his body more rapidly than lightning might go through a tree.

Afra squeaked, unable to form a single word to her defense, and Hades narrowed his eyes as he realized that he would have to make sure she spoke.

Then, Persephone cleared her throat.

“Cerberus knocked me over.” Her voice was weak, throat probably raw from the violent expulsion of the water she’d taken in, but she spoke anyway.

Hades turned around to see Persephone starting to stand up, and his grip on Afra immediately was lost as he strode over and offered her his hand, which Persephone refused to take.

“What?” Hades’ voice almost trembled, Cerberus had caused this?

“It was an accident, Hades. Cerberus was running and bumped into me while I was standing too close to the river.” Persephone’s voice cracked, and she grimaced as she stopped herself from saying anything else.

“Go back to your homes. All of you.” Hades demanded, turning back to the workers who immediately fled the scene, Afra and Timothy staying together as they briskly walked away from their king and queen, glancing back over their shoulders as they went.

Hades looked at Persephone, and offered her his hand to hold when he noticed she was shivering.

Was it from the cold, or the fear?

Persephone cracked a small smile as she took it, squeezing his hand with her own.

The smile didn’t reach her eyes.

They made it back to the manor without much difficulty, though all Hades wanted to do was scoop his wife up in his arms and smother her in kisses.

He’d never experienced more fear in his life than he had seeing her laid out on the ground, soaked to the bone and unresponsive, and yet Persephone didn’t seem even remotely rattled by it.

“Persephone, are you alright, love? Truly?” Hades inquired once the door had shut them away from the underworld and from prying eyes.

Persephone nodded once, resting her head on his chest for a moment as if that was going to convince him that she was really alright.

It didn’t. In fact, it worried him more.

“Seph, I-“ Hades began, but was immediately silenced by Persephone pressing a gentle and chaste kiss to his lips.

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Hades. Not yet.” Her throat had obviously not improved, so Hades didn’t press her, instead escorting her upstairs.

Their bedroom was minimalist, nothing there that wasn’t necessary, unlike the rest of the house.

A small array of plants covered the windowsill, and Persephone cracked another smile when she noticed that the summer bedding was still on their bed, it hadn’t been changed to their thick, warm winter blankets yet.

“I’m gonna go fetch the winter set from the basement, will you be alright while I do?” Hades inquired, and Persephone turned to face him before she nodded.

That being said, as soon as Hades’ footsteps disappeared down the stairs, Persephone all but collapsed on the foot of the bed, trembling so violently it impacted her breathing.

Her vision blurred with an onslaught of tears as she struggled to calm herself, it wasn’t possible.

Her dress still dripped water down her legs and clung to every inch of her skin, unforgiving, unrelenting.

Persephone began to claw at her dress, searching through her panic-induced haze to try and get hold of the fastenings and free herself from one of three water-logged layers that threatened to weigh her down.

They’d become so heavy once the water seeped into them, dragging her further under the water’s surface no matter how hard she tried to claw her way up to the precious oxygen that her lungs so desperately needed.

Then, Persephone realized she could only longer fight the burning feeling that was building in her lungs.

She needed to inhale.

And inhale she had, multiple times, enough to make her vision go dark and rob her of the chance to tell Hades she loved him.

It would have been a mental message, one that she hadn’t thought to send until it was too late for him to realize she was in trouble.

An angry sob broke through her throat, between her chest heaving rapidly to try and gulp in as much air as she could.

One sob, like the need to inhale, paved the way for many more.

That was how Hades found her moments later, curled into herself on the foot of their bed and frantically trying to get out of the soaked garments.

The bedding that had previously been in his arms was dropped unceremoniously on the floor, Hades going to Persephone as fast as he could move and taking her into his tight embrace. One hand coming up to rest gently on the back of Persephone’s head and the other rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back.

“Shh. I’ve got you, love. It’s alright. I’m here.” Hades murmured, his breath tickling Persephone’s ear just enough to make her shiver.

“I- I need... too much, Hades- It’s too much.” Persephone whined, still trying to get free of the garments that seemed to get tighter by the second.

Luckily, Hades’ practiced fingers made short work of the fastenings and were soon peeling the garments from her body.

Persephone felt immediate relief as the last one was peeled away and Hades wrapped her in his large and plush robe to keep her warm, head lolling to the side to stare into the concerned eyes of her husband.

“Thank you.” She whispered, lacing her fingers with his and pressing a kiss to his hand.

Hades smiled softly and squeezed her hand, then pulled her into his arms and settled her at the head of the bed.

Persephone closed her eyes for just a moment, until she felt the bed next to her shift under the weight of her husband’s form, and she blinked at him.

“Rest, Seph. You need to rest.” Hades murmured, brushing a tendril of her curls away from her face and reveling in the feeling of warmth his fingertips found there.

Persephone in turn nuzzled her face closer to his shoulder, slinging one arm over his chest as she drew herself closer and then allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

Hades himself, did not sleep alongside his exhausted and terrified wife.

How could he, knowing that she had almost met an untimely end before her immortality festival?

His eyes were trained on her chest, watching for the rise and fall that would indicate she was still breathing. Hades had seen many come to him that had nearly drowned, but died hours later due to water in their lungs.

He couldn’t trust that Persephone would be exempt from such a horrible death, afraid that if he fell asleep next to her that she would never wake again.

So Hades waited, and watched, and counted the breaths.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

A never-ending count that Hades continued even as he longed to caress his sleeping wife.

He didn’t, of course, half afraid that if he touched her he’d find her skin cold as it had been before she was revived, half that he was afraid to wake her from her needed slumber.

Swimming made the best man tired, save Poseidon and his spawn, and Persephone had fought hard to try and teach herself to stay afloat as she sunk beneath the surface with no warning.

Hades’ mind raced, had she ever mentioned to him she couldn’t swim?

_“Can’t be.”,_ he thought to himself, _“She seemed so excited when I mentioned we’d wade into the Styx and relax, or take a trip to the hot springs.”_

Surely if Persephone couldn’t swim, she’d not have agreed to do those things with him.

He’d imagined it, Hades convinced himself.

He hadn’t thought to ask if she could swim, and holding the end of summer picnic so close to the Styx had been his idea. 

Hades had been reckless, and it had been at the cost of Persephone’s life.

Hades had been reckless and absent.

It hadn’t been his intention to be so late, he’d gone to work early that morning with the intention to be out of his office early and helping Persephone set up, but he’d been distracted by a particularly complicated ledger.

A ledger Hades hadn’t looked up from until Timothy had burst in and practically dragged him by the arm frantically shouting about an incident and so forth.

Hades had no clue why he was being summoned until Timothy finally uttered Persephone’s name, and then they were both sprinting as fast as they could to the riverbanks.

He had failed her as a husband, and that thought ran rampant through his brain until Persephone shifted next to him.

His breath hitched, and as Persephone opened her eyes and blinked a few times before she looked at him, Hades could have melted into a puddle of gratitude.

She was alive, she was breathing.

Breathing, and looking up at him with a sleepy little smile on her face as she snuggled closer to him.

“Hey.” She murmured softly, blinking up at him and burrowing closer still.

“Hey yourself. How are you feeling?” Hades inquired, bringing his arms to enclose her and placing one gentle hand on the back of head head.

Persephone reveled in the embrace, the feeling of safety that Hades always brought to her when she was firm in his arms.

“Tired, grateful, lucky. My throat’s still a little rough, but I think I’ll survive.” Persephone took stock of what felt off in her body, and Hades seemed relatively pleased with her assessment.

“I do have one question, if you’re up to it, lover.” Hades chose his words carefully, it wouldn’t do to be torn up about this in front of her.

Persephone would lock onto it and might decide withholding an answer to be the best course of action, she did hate to see him upset.

He took such pains to keep her from seeing him like that, he’d let her see his anger, his fury. Those were easy, they didn’t require him to show his heart’s aching. 

Hades made an active effort to prevent her seeing his grief, his fear, anything that might make him seem weaker in her eyes.

His brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, they didn’t matter.

Only Persephone mattered.

“I think I might be up to answering one question.” Persephone smiled, but a feeling in the pit of her stomach made itself known, and it wasn’t a good one.

Hades took a breath, and Persephone matched it.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could swim?” 

“Oh.”

Hades furrowed his brow, looking at his wife wrapped up in his bathrobe and playing with the hem on one of the sleeves.

_“Oh?”_ He pressed further, it was so rare for Persephone to be out of words to say. 

For him, it was fairly common. Persephone brought so many words from his brain onto his tongue and out into the air, but rarely was the goddess of spring and summer lost for words.

“When we were first married, and you brought me down here proud as a peacock to show off the kingdom we’d share, and you talked about all the things you wanted to take me to do. Wade in the Styx, a dip in the hot springs... you seemed so excited to do those things with me, and it made me so so happy to see you so vividly _happy_ and excited. How could I ruin that for you by telling you that I couldn’t swim?” Persephone spoke quietly, eyes cast down as she took another breath.

“You’d risk your life just to make me happy?” Hades’ eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape as he fumbled for other words to say.

Persephone cracked a smile and nodded.

“I like seeing you happy, Hades. I know you’d never let anything bad happen to me.” 

Hades captured Persephone in a passionate kiss, her lips tasted slightly of the water of the Styx, which seemed to cling to her skin.

When they pulled away, Persephone lay her head on his shoulder and he kept her close, feeling her breath tickle his skin through his shirt, listening to her breathing.

Alive, _alive_ , **alive.**

Persephone was alive.

“But why can’t you swim? Seems strange to me that someone like you wouldn’t know how.” Hades inquired after a moment of comfortable silence.

Persephone laughed, then looked up at him again.

“Mama forbid it. She saw your brother leaving for his home from some meeting or other, and assumed he’d been lurking around to seduce me. Told me that being in the water was an invitation Poseidon wouldn’t turn down.” She snickered, and for the first time since he found out Persephone had nearly drowned, Hades laughed along with her.

“Wasn’t _him_ she oughta been worried about.” Hades chuckled, pressing a kiss to the crown of Persephone’s head.

“Not at all.” She smiled back, settling them both down as she yawned one more time.

“You should get some more sleep.” Hades added, shifting slightly.

“You should apologize to Afra, Timothy, and the rest of the workers. They didn’t deserve that, Hades. They’re the reason I’m still here in your arms.” Persephone’s tone became pointed, almost cold.

Hades was in trouble.

“I will, Seph. I promise. Afra and Timothy will be given a year’s wages in advance, on top of what they make from their hours, the other workers will receive a raise as compensation.” He assured her, making a mental note to himself to see it done.

Persephone grinned.

“How generous, what will they think of King Hades now?” She teased before yawning again.

“They’ll think he’s grateful to them for saving his wife, who he loves more than anything in all the realms. Now rest, I know you’re still tired.” Hades smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead and then her lips.

“Will you stay here with me?” 

“Until the end of time.”


End file.
